Friday came and went in a boring fashion and on Saturday morning Jooheon and Changkyun were exactly where they said they would be two days prior. They sat on the floor of Jooheon's bedroom, theory notes and music productions textbooks spread out in front of them in obvious disarray as they did their best to memorize the material. 

For the most part, they had no trouble since they were music majors and had been learning the basics on their own for years, but it was common knowledge that neither of them were the greatest when it came to tests. There were a lot of times in high school where Jooheon would blank out due to mild anxiety and then find himself losing marks on some of the simplest questions and it bothered him to no end. So, when he graduated and started applying for college, he made sure to have a system to make things easier and utilize any on campus assistance that he would have been too stubborn to make use of previously. So far, to Jooheon's delight, it was working so this time around he wasn't so nervous.

Luckily for Changkyun, he never really had that issue. When it came to him, it was more an of a motivation issue. Although he had goals in mind and was more then capable of achieving them, he always seemed to be lacking the drive and sometimes even the energy, to accomplish them. Changkyun knew he was smart and he was more then passionate enough about music to actually make something of it in the long term but sometimes he would just find it hard to do anything. He figured it had something to do with never being taken seriously and being put down when he mentioned his aspirations to certain people. As hard as he tried, every now and then he would hear something in the back of his head telling him it wasn't worth it. 

He had to admit though, it was a lot worse in the past. But then he met Jooheon and suddenly things seemed a bit easier. Something about the cute and charismatic boy always brightened his day even if all he did was smile at him. Obviously it didn't fix everything but it was nice having someone he could always rely on. Before he had moved to the area, he hadn't had any close friends, preferring to stay alone. So when the taller male suggested that they become friends, Changkyun was surprisingly open to the idea. He couldn't deny that over the years he developed a deep affection for the other but it never quite formed into a romantic kind of love. It definitely wasn't the platonic affection he felt for his other friends though, it was something entirely seperate from either. It confused Changkyun at first but after awhile of learning about himself and talking to people online who felt the same way he slowly began to understand. 
They studied for another hour before Jooheon's mom let them know that lunch was waiting for them downstairs whenever they were ready. Putting away their books for the time being they headed downstairs and joined her at the table.

"How is the studying going boys? Midterms start next Monday right?" Jooheon's mom inquired as the three of them casually enjoyed the food that was prepared.

"Yeah." 

"It's going okay. We still have a few more things to go over together just to be sure though and then we'll probably spend this week studying sperately." Jooheon responded.

Changkyun swallowed a mouthful of food and added, "So we don't risk getting distracted."

The taller boy's mom nodded her head and told them she was proud of how well they've been doing in school lately and said that they'll definitely go far if they keep it up.

"Thank you." Changkyun said politely. "I just wish I had more actual experience in terms of performing. I mean, we have to perform in one of our classes but it's a different environment then say, performing at say a cafe."

"Doesn't Hoseok's dad own a cafe? Why don't you see if you can arrange something with them?" Jooheon's mom suggested in a friendly tone.

"OH!" Jooheon exclaimed suddenly with a loud clap, surprising the other two people at the table."Ahh, sorry. I just remembered something Kihyun mentioned yesterday. We met up for coffee and he said something about their being an open mic night at the Hoseok's next month."

Changkyun's brows knitted together. "Since when do they do that?"

"They don't usually, unless one of their regular pianists cancels for whatever reason. Apparently the one they hired for next month is getting married that day and instead of hiring someone else this time, because it can get pretty expensive, Hoseok just suggested they try something different and let some of the regulars perform. Kihyun was considering it bbut he wasn't sure. He does little gigs all the time but he doesn't really have an idea of what he could perform if he did." Jooheon explained.

Changkyun nodded as the dimpled boy continued.

"So I suggested he ask you to do a collab since he doesn't do that often and having someone else with you might make it a little easier for you. You know that song 이대로도 예뻐?(1) I think your voices would work really well together if you did that one."

Seeing that the boys were now falling into a conversation amongst themselves, Jooheon's mom excused herself from the table while they decided whether or not to go through with Jooheon's plan.

Changkyun tilted his head as he considered the suggestion and after a few moments agreed. "Sure. I think that could work."
"

Sweet! I'm actually going out with Kihyun, Minhyuk and Hoseok to the bar tonight, so I'll let him know then." Jooheon smiled, happy that the other had agreed to it.
They shook hands in the way they always did and cleaned up their dishes before retreating back to Jooheon's room for a few more hours where they finished studying and played some games before Jooheon drove Changkyun home on his way to the bar.

******

When Jooheon got to the bar, the other three boys were already waiting for him, Kinhyun and Minhyuk each with a drink in their hands. Hoseok didn't like to drink too often, unless he was already at home but he always tagged along with his friends to make sure everyone got home safely.

The was a quiet chorus of greetings when he made his way over to the table the others were sitting at. They knew how long it would take for him to get here so they had already ordered a drink for him that was placed on the table a few seconds after he sat down.

The four of them casually talked, asking each other if they were ready for midterms which was answered with a unanimous groan from everyone before they started laughing. They were all pretty confident that they would do just fine but they still weren't exactly excited when it came to studying. They joked for awhile, Minhyuk the cause of most of the laughter, until Jooheon remembered he needed to talk to Kihyun about the collab with Changkyun.

"Oh, Kihyun. You know how you were considering performing at Hoseok's next month and how I suggested doing something with Changkyun?"

Kihyun nodded simply as he took a sip of his drink. "Yeah."

"I talked to Changkyun about it earlier when we were studying and he said he's down to do it." Jooheon said.

"Ahh really? That's great. After midterms are out of the way, we can get together and work on it then." Kihyun responded. He had always really like Changkyun's style of rapping so he was pleased to hear that the younger boy was willing to get on stage with him. He knew with the song choice Jooheon suggested, that their voices would compliment each other's really well.

An hour and a half later, the four boys, excluding Hoseok were all slightly buzzed when they heard a commotion coming from the bar. They all looked over to see a girl about Jooheon and Changkyun's age trying to politely reject the advances of some guy who had clearly been trying to buy her a drink for a least a few minutes now.

"I'm sorry. I already said I don't really want it." The girl said, voice gradually becoming more frustrated.

"Just take it. I swear I'm not expecting anything from ya, just tryin' to be a gentlemen here." The guy responded.

They watched silently, assessing the situation and when the guy made a grab for her arm, Hoseok immediately stood up and walked over to them.

He stood between the two, removing the intruding hand from the girl's wrist. "The lady said she didn't want it man, just leave her alone."

"Who the hell are you, her boyfriend? Why weren't you with her before huh?" The guy responded angrily.

"No, I'm not her boyfriend. But I am someone who doesn't tolerate s disrespecting woman."

The guy laughed in Hoseok's face, telling him to leave, that it was between him and "this cutie" nodding in the direction of the girl.

Hoseok felt the girl grab the hem of his shirt, and he turned to look at her seeing pleading eyes. He gave her a soft look, trying to convey that she'll be alright.
When the guy suddenly tried to shove Hoseok out of the way, he caught himself quickly and grabbed a fistful of the guy's shirt and calmly stated that if he didn't leave right now, when he did leave it would be with a black eye. The other guy didn't care what he had to say and tried to make a reach for the girl behind Hoseok's back for the second time. Hoseok sighed quietly, a little disappointed at the direction the night just went in but more concerned about the girl's safety. 

Jooheon, Minhyuk and Kihyun walked over quietly to move the girl over to their table just as Hoseok threw one steady punch in the direction of the other guy, fist catching roughly on the egde of his cheekbone. By this point, the bartenders came over to de-escalate the situation. The other patrons having seen what happened, explained and the bar owners threw the harasser out and asked the girl if she was okay. She responded with a brief nod before the bartenders returned to their places.

Kihyun shook his head lightly at the situation. "I think it's time to go home now."

The others all hummed in agreement and walked out the door with the girl.

Hoseok suggested they call a cab for the girl to which she agreed. 

"Thank you for helping me, I really appreciate it. Do you think maybe you'd want to get a coffee together some time?" She asked him sweetly, thinking he was really attractive.

"Ahh no, I'm so sorry-" Flustered, Hoseok started to turn down the offer before Kihyun interrupted, followed shortly after by Minhyuk.

"He's gay."

"And has a boyfriend."

Hoseok rubbed the back of his neck feeling slightly embarassed. 

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry." She responded in a friendly manner.

Hoseok assured her that it was totally fine as her cab showed up. The four boys watched as she got in and told her to get home safely.

After the cab drove away, Minhyuk started speaking in the direction of Kihyun. "Okay, should I call Hyunwoo to pick us up?"

Kihyun nodded and they waited the 15 minutes for him to arrive. Jooheon and Hoseok waved them off before heading to Jooheon's car.

"Keys." Hoseok said simply with his hand held out, palm facing up.

Jooheon smiled widely and dropped the keys into his hand before sliding into the passenger's seat. They the music and casually sang along until Hoseok arrived at Jooheon's house. They got out of the car and Hoseok tossed the keys back to the owner, giving him a light pat on the back before heading to the bus stop down the street. The bus pulled up to the stop shortly after and he hopped on, getting comfortable in the seat for the 40 minute ride back to his apartment near the campus.

He pulled out his phone and opened an app to see a notification from Hyungwon.

9:50PM: Hope you're having fun at the bar love. Text me when you get home. 

He read the text and smiled when he saw the heart emoticon at the end.

He typed in his response and hit send.

11:48PM: I'm on my way home now babe. 

His phone vibrated, alerting him of the response

11:51PM: Did you have fun with the guys?

Hoseok made a face as he thought of the answer to that question.

11:52PM: Yeah. Changkyun and Kihyun are going to do the open mic thing at the cafe apparently.

11:52PM: Also I had to help some girl who was being harassed by some that couldn't take no for an answer.

Two texts from Hyungwon appeared on screen soon after hitting send.

11:53PM: That's good to hear! I'm sure the customers will love that!

11:53PM: Ahh, really? Is she alright?

11:53PM: Yeah, she's fine. I don't know about the guy though. I landed a hit to the side of his face...

11:54PM: That's good. Also that's the first incident in over a year, that's not too bad.

Hoseok frowned to himself as he responded, not exactly proud of that fact

11:56PM: I know...

11:56PM: Hey. It's okay, that's not a bad thing. It just means you're still as passionate about helping people as you ever were

11:57PM: You're a good person Hoseok, even if you don't always believe it. I wouldn't be dating you if you weren't. I love you.

Hoseok smiled at his boyfriend's way of making him feel better and quickly typed up a response.

11:58PM: Thank you Hyungwonnie. I love you too. I'll text you when I'm at home.

11:58PM: Okay, be safe.

Hoseok responded with a short "I will" before putting his headphones in and listening to the playlist his tall lover had made him as he watched the houses flash by through the bus window, wondering how on earth he got so lucky.

I'm sorry I took so long on this chapter. I was a bit stuck and was worried it would be too short so I took a couple days to try and figure it out. Thank you for reading!

AN (1): If you haven't seen it already, it's just the title of the cover Changkyun and Kihyun did. I'm living for those two doing covers together and just the entire aesthetic of that video honestly!